


Alternative Choreography

by Gayle (gay_le_forcewinds)



Series: TrobedTV [6]
Category: Community (TV)
Genre: F/F, Inspired by Music, Jeff Winger Has Issues, M/M, Multi, Songfic of sorts, The Author Regrets Nothing, Unconventional Format, bi jeff rights!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:22:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27947492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gay_le_forcewinds/pseuds/Gayle
Summary: Aka the one where Troy meets the Save Greendale committee and finds his place in it and then they start working on a sitcom together, the committee plans yet another elaborate Greendale Dance theme, and Jeff has bi panicThank you so much to Quincy and Shawn for the betas <3Shawn suggested I break up my paragraphs more, so here's a try at that. Tell me if you like it.
Relationships: Annie Edison/Britta Perry, Jeff Winger/Dean Craig Pelton & Shirley Bennet, Troy Barnes & The Save Greendale Committee, Troy Barnes/Abed Nadir
Series: TrobedTV [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2046644
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	Alternative Choreography

Today was the first Save Greendale Committee meeting of the new school year. After Troy and Abed spent the whole summer filming with various members, they could not wait to reunite the full group at Greendale.

The ride to the school was sadly mundane, with Troy and Abed discussing a sitcom they were making and Jeff and Britta arguing about some song playing in their earbuds. No one really paid attention to it until they entered the study room.

"I'll admit Adam Levine is good at singing," Britta agreed, "but Maroon 5 is trash. He'd be better if he joined Kara's Flowers, or Weezer." 

"You listen to _Weezer_ unironically?" 

"I don't wanna hear it, Winger. You listen to _Maroon 5_ unironically, so you can not make fun of my music taste." 

"I've only listened to them in the car. I just brought them up because Kara's Flowers sounds like them. You know, except for the fact that they suck. "Jeff slighted. 

Britta gasped in offense. "First you diss BNL and now Kara's Flowers?"

"BNL? Really? You're _still_ on that?" Jeff's jaw was clenched in contempt.

"You bet your ass I am. You need to apologize for trying to infect me with your terrible taste."

"Who do you think I got it from? I dated you." Jeff said with a glare. 

Britta rolled her eyes. "Right back at ya,   
limp-dick. Why don't you go get bukkake'd by Maroon 5?" 

"Why don't _you_ go get bukkake'd by Kara's Flowers?" 

"Ah shit, here we go again. Red Door vs L Street 2, Electric Boogaloo." Troy grumbled. 

Jeff gave him a puzzled look. "Huh?" 

Abed handed Jeff his phone, motioning Britta over. "Guys, look at this album cover. They're the same band." 

"Maybe that's just Adam Levine's old band?" Britta said, not quite ready to admit her mistake yet. 

" _Maroon 5's original members Levine, Carmichael, bassist Mickey Madden, and drummer Ryan Dusick first came together as Kara's Flowers in 1994, while they were still in high school._ " Troy read off Wikipedia. 

"Oh my god, they're the same band." Britta realized. "How did they go from making such good music to making complete garbage?"

"If Kara's Flowers is _so_ good, how come I never heard of them until they became Maroon 5?"

"Just because something's popular, doesn't mean it's good. In fact, most of the time, it means the opposite." Britta said with a smirk.

"Oh of course you'd say that, you fucking hipster!"

"I am so punk rock, you don't even know." Britta protested. "I don't always dress like it, but you have no idea what's blasting through my headphones everyday. Sure, most days, it's NPR, but still-"

Abed cut them off. "We are not starting this argument again. You guys are just gonna have to call a truce and have a threesome with Adam Levine." 

Britta shook her head. "I'm not going anywhere near that asshole." 

"But you'll listen to his music?"

"Ever heard of a guilty pleasure, Winger?" 

Jeff smiled smugly. "Again, I dated you." 

"Whatever. I'm still showing the group one of their songs. This one's my favorite. It's also their only hit."

Jeff raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you just say that popular things are often bad?"   
"Often, not always." Britta hooked her phone up to a speaker and played the song.

Jeff groaned as he recognized the song. "You couldn't just show it to me, huh? You had to show it to everybody..." he went to turn it off, but Abed grabbed his wrist. 

"This is giving me an idea. I'll forget it if you stop the song."

Jeff pulled his hand away quickly, as if he had been burned. "Are you serious?"

"Almost always." Abed leaned into the speaker, listening carefully. "Yeah, this sounds like the theme song to a sitcom... What's this song called?" 

"Soap Disco," Britta answered.

Abed nodded curtly. "Cool cool cool. I'll brainstorm to it later. Right now, the Dean is entering with an elaborate outfit, meaning he has an announcement."

Everyone turned around to see Dean Pelton wearing an MCR t-shirt and a leather skirt with fishnets. He had on heavy eyeliner, plus black lipstick and nail polish. He must've had contacts in because his glasses had been ditched for today. "For the next school dance, we are remembering the 90s, and the early 2000's. One of my students suggested I call it a Yeetback Dance, so I guess that's what it's called now. Anyway, I hope it'll make you say, it's not a phase, mom. We're having a Save Greendale Committee meeting here in a few to plan, so call the rest of the gang in." He said to Troy. 

"They're coming, don't worry. I've been wanting to meet the committee." 

"Perfect. See y'all soon." The dean waved, then sashayed away. 

Britta cringed. "That was so cursed." 

Troy and Abed nodded in agreement.

"I don't know. I think he pulled it off." Jeff bit his lip as he watched the dean leave, spacing out as he thought about how weirdly attractive he was. He usually didn't stare at other men like this, but he swore it was solely appreciative, even if it did feel a little weird. He was used to being on the receiving end of their relationship, noticing the pet names, stolen glances, not-so-subtle flirting, and just the general extra attention Craig gave him. Most people would call it the Annie of it all, but that would be reading too much into it. They just enjoyed each other's company, even if he didn't want to admit it. He would take whatever he could get of course, even if sometimes it was almost smothering. He liked feeling important to someone, even if it wasn't in the traditional way. Something about Craig right now made him want to give that back. To tell him just how much he meant to him. 

"Jeez. I don't know what's more limp. Your dick or your wrist." Britta half-joked.

Jeff wasn't really paying attention. "What?"

"She's calling you gay." Abed whispered.

Jeff folded his arms pointedly. "What's wrong with being gay, Britta?" 

"Dude. I'm bi. I've been dating Annie for like, 6 months. It'd be ridiculous for to have a problem with gay people. All I'm saying is you totally just checked out the dean." Britta pointed out. 

"I did _not_." 

"You were looking at him like he was your next meal." Britta sneered. 

"Even if I was, that doesn't automatically mean I'm into him." 

"How about this, if you are, you owe me 20 bucks." Britta bargained. 

"Don't take that bet. You're going to lose."Abed urged. 

"Like hell."

Shirley and Annie carpooled to the meeting together. Usually, it'd be her, Britta, Troy, and Abed, but Shirley needed someone to help her drop off her kids as she could barely wake up that morning. Needless to say, she didn't love being a single mom. The group ended up filling in wherever they could.

Jeff would normally drive alone, but since there was an empty seat in Troy, Britta, and Abed's carpool, that's what he took. First, they arrived, then Annie and Shirley, then Frankie and the Dean, Ian and Chang, and finally, Elroy. The gang was all there just in time.

The Dean banged a gavel on the table to signal that the meeting was starting. He introduced himself as Dean Craig Pelton, then did a roll call of everyone else, welcoming Troy as a new member.

With a new member came a new role. Annie was the planner while Britta helped her with decorations and music. Shirley usually provided the food. Ian and Chang got the word out to the staff while Jeff got it out to the students. Elroy and Abed were in charge of technology, while Frankie and Craig were in charge of funding. They needed to find something for Troy to do, but what?

They couldn't ask him to be the maintenance man, he'd end up in a repair cult. He could help Jeff or Shirley, but they usually do pretty well alone if they don't end up helping each other. There was really only one loose end that needed to be tied: activities. They didn't have many sports or clubs, because almost everything was a class. Even those weren't in the best shape.

The only clubs they had were glee, dance, and drama. Well, that AV club that Abed runs. He could help there, but he didn't know nearly as much about film as his boyfriend did. They had sports like basketball and football. They even used to have an ultimate Frisbee team until the Frisbees made the roof collapse. Greendale still hadn't won a game in years, not because they weren't good, but because they had bad equipment, they swore.

Troy and Abed would both probably be great athletes if they didn't get distracted by each other. Of course, Troy didn't really want to be on the team anyway, as his heart wasn't in it anymore, and he was far too busy with TrobedTV, but he did want to help them get better equipment, along with the clubs and classes.

He especially wanted to help with drama, glee, and dance. No matter how much the group ragged on him, those clubs were fun, so it was decided. Troy was now the activities director, a role within the sanction of funding, so Craig and Frankie would be helping him.

Frankie smiled, shaking his hand and welcoming him aboard. "I can't wait to hear you play the steel drums." 

Troy looked to Abed with confusion. "What? Am I gonna have to learn the steel drums now? Did I already learn them and I just forgot?" 

Abed chortled and shook his head. "That was just a bit Jeff did while you were gone."

Frankie looked slightly hurt. "So I played the steel drums with Natalie Is Freezing for nothing?" 

"Not for nothing, you looked cool. Plus, it gave me a chance to reconnect with an old flame from the band." Elroy said with a fond smile. 

"So she can play the steel drums," Troy gestured to Frankie, "and he knows Natalie Is Freezing?" he then gestured to Elroy. "Why didn't I meet these people sooner?" 

"Wait, you know Natalie Is Freezing?" 

Troy scoffed at Britta. "Who doesn't?"

Everyone's phones pinged, signaling that the floor plan for the dance had been sent. The gym was going to be decorated with posters for bands and tv shows from that era and included songs from said bands and shows. It was gonna be weird intersecting the All That scene, the Hot Topic scene, and the Disney Channel scene, but it was Greendale, so it made perfect sense.

Annie had an idea that those who have dates do mock promposals for them that everyone loved.

Shirley wished someone would sweep her off her feet, but she intimidated most men sexually, so it wasn't likely, but she had hope.

Jeff wanted to ask someone, but not like that. He was tired of everything being so showy. Especially with this group, where _everything_ isa show, both literal and imaginary. Besides, what if he did the whole show, then he got rejected? He wished he could just go up to someone and ask them, or hell, just text them so he didn't even have to face the rejection.

Craig was used to flying solo, but his looks were always on point, so he hoped that'd snag him somebody. He could feel eyes on him earlier, but maybe he was imagining it. His mind does tend to embellish the truth, giving him a sliver of hope that never really amounted to anything. He should've been snatched up by now. He was great at planning, he always looked great, he was really funny, what's not to love?

Abed was half-assing the meeting since his department didn't involve too much planning. He had already started writing down the concept for his sitcom, pretending he was taking notes. When he had an idea, it consumed his whole brain, so he supposed when he said he would brainstorm later, he meant now.

Ian and Chang made sure that it was planned to be an afternoon or night party since most of their students have morning classes. They didn't help too much because they had classes to run, so they might not even show up, but they weren't completely useless. 

Troy brought up the important point that they needed to make sure the dance didn't conflict with any other activities or classes at Greendale. 

Dance meets on Mondays at 3, then the drama club comes in at 5. On Wednesdays at 4, Abed's film club meets. The glee club meets on Thursdays at the same time. On Saturdays, the football team practices at 6 followed by the basketball team at 8.

Almost any weekday they had it, they definitely can't have the dance at 4. Of course, unless they do it on Tuesday, but there's a reason why there's only one song about partying on that day. They couldn't do Saturday because that was a sports day, so having it on a Friday at 6 made the most sense. They still needed a bit of time to get it together though, so it'd be in a few weeks.

Shirley had just recently got her sandwich business off the ground, finally replacing where Subway used to be in the cafeteria, since her food was just as good, if not better. A lot of people mainly came for her baking, despite it being a sandwich place.

She suggested that the cafeteria should be where they have it so that the food is right there for anyone who might want it, and there would be tables in case people needed to sit down and take breaks, so long as the tables weren't in the way.

Britta had a whole encyclopedia of alternative bands from the 90s and early 2000s to suggest music from, including Kara's Flowers, the band she would not shut up about. Jeff insisted that if they play that stuff, at least play names people know, like the aforementioned My Chemical Romance, Natalie Is Freezing, Blink 182, Linkin Park, Fall Out Boy, and The Killers.   
He added playing more than just the alternative songs, bringing up '90s boy bands and a few songs from the crunk craze of the early 2000s.

Weirdly enough, he knew his stuff. Britta and Jeff ended working together on the playlist, with Elroy offering to DJ while Abed manned the photo booth. He also offered his services as an emcee, in case any song requests came in with a message attached, and because he knew Elroy didn't have much in the way of semi-recent pop culture knowledge.

Craig and Frankie started planning how to fundraise, with the most obvious thing being ticket sales. Britta suggested doing $15 for 1 person, but $10 for groups and couples. Craig refused to be charged for being single. Frankie reminded her that even if that approach brought more people in, it'd ultimately have a lower profit regimen.

They needed to make sure that prices were high enough to where they could pay for the dance, but not so expensive that no one wanted to buy them. Shirley said if they were to charge a lot per person, they might need to include food in the prices to justify the cost.

Annie suggested making admission free, but giving people special markup tickets for reserving seats at lunch tables($5 per seat, unless it was a group, then it was just 25), buying food(15$, with an extra 5 if you planned on buying over $25 worth of food, along with an option to get a ticket that bundles food and table expenses for 35$), using the photo booth(15$), and requesting songs(5$ per song, 7 if they wanted they wanted a personalized announcement).

Frankie added that they should sell these tickets at different times and places throughout the cafeteria, just so they don't have too many people crowding one ticket booth. They decided to have the people who are running each department hand out the tickets for them.

Jeff and Shirley had a booth for food tickets while Elroy and Abed had one for requesting songs and photo booth usage. Annie was originally going to work with Shirley, but Jeff insisted that she already had enough on her plate, so he should take over.

Jeff and Shirley's booth would be open on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Elroy and Abed's booth would be open on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They planned to have the dance start in 3 weeks. 

Frankie was ecstatic. "I love all these rules!"

"Me too!" Annie squealed.

With all that settled, the meeting was finished.

Abed got home earlier because Troy had his first dance practice that day. They had mainly been learning ballet, but Troy decided to start teaching them a few hip-hop moves. When Troy came home, Abed was making buttered noodles for the both of them. Troy instantly wrapped his arms around him. He laughed lightly, asking if he missed him. Troy nuzzled into his neck and murmured, "duh doy"

A few minutes later, they were sitting at the table and eating together, chatting about their sitcom. 

"So what was the idea that the song gave you?" Troy began.

"That song is gonna be the theme song actually. I might just end up calling it Soap Disco too. It's gonna be about 3 brothers who have a secret rock band when they're supposed to be a disco family." Abed explained. 

"That sounds cool. But what about the soap part?" 

"I was kinda thinking maybe the family runs some a car wash business with a disco gimmick, and once they're 18, they're supposed to start working there, but they want to keep doing the band that they started when they were 16. So, they have to find out how to tell their parents, and support the business in their own way. Maybe by making the theme song the jingle for the brand. I haven't completely decided yet." Abed went on. " I'm having another meeting with the committee in a week after I've written the pilot to discuss it with them because I know I'm gonna need help from them in terms of casting with how many characters I have. I might even get some help from the AV club kids. I might see if I can present the trailer at the Yeetback Dance."   
  


"Perfect. I'll tell them. Let me know if you need anything."   
  


"Cool cool cool."

Many of the AV club kids offered to help with filming and editing, some even offering to be in it. Namely, Pavel offered to be the third brother in the band. Pavel was a great addition because it meant Abed was also able to add Polish to the list of other languages that the show would be available in, whereas before they just had English, Spanish, and ASL.

Abed then cast the rest of the characters, easily matching roles with the members of the committee. Troy gathered some kids from the drama club. Abed had him, Troy, and Pavel as the brothers, while Jeff and Shirley were the parents. 

"Why am I always the father?" Jeff questioned. 

"It fits your character." 

Jeff sighed. "Please don't make this more meta than it already is." 

Shirley was confused too. "Why am I the mother, and not Annie or Britta?"   
"Well, you're a mom in real life, so it made sense in my mind. I know it's an unusual pairing, but I think it could work." Abed explained. 

"And the whole Soap Disco thing?" Jeff followed up. 

"I will not play Maroon 5 music more than I have to. And don't worry, the parents come around. You won't be wearing leg warmers for long." Abed half-joked. 

"Can I be in it as well as help with costumes?" Britta requested. 

"If you can find a way to implement your character, sure." Abed said with a shrug. 

"She can't sing, though. "Troy warned quietly. "Besides, I thought I was doing vocals and you and Pavel were doing the guitars." 

"No, you're right on all that, but we still need drums." Abed reminded him. 

"I could teach her drums ." Frankie suggested.

"Okay Britta, what's your character? Give me the pitch." Abed had already put on his director's voice. Troy swore he only found it a little hot. 

"What if... the parents work a lot, so they get a babysitter, but she's actually a cool rebel type so she helps them keep their band a secret until they're able to get the parents to come around?" 

"I like that. The parents won't be completely offscreen, but there's more unsupervised time for hijinks." Abed made a quick note then put down his pen. "Alright." he pointed to everyone in the group to confirm that they wanted a table reading of the pilot, to which they nodded. Garret even offered to read the stage directions.

 _(The jingle for Disco Car Wash_ ®️ _plays._  
 _Two of the three brothers, David(Pavel) and Donovan Jr(Troy) are in disco-themed workout attire, being taught the dance that goes with it by their parents. Dominic(Abed) is nowhere to be seen. The parents suspect he's taking a break, but he is actually in the garage, cleaning and listening to old CDs he found.)_

_FATHER: You're supposed to start with your left hand on your hip and right hand up. Left to right. That's how it always goes. Now let's run it again._

_DONAVAN JR: We have been working on this for hours. Can't we take a break?_

_MOTHER: Sorry boys. We have to get this perfect for our next filming of the commercial_   
_DOMINIC: Guys, come down here! I found something!_   
  


_MOTHER: The buyers just called us, so we'll see you later, but be ready to work on the dance more!_

_(David and Donovan Jr ignored her as they went down to the garage to see Dominic putting a CD in a radio.)_

_DAVID: We've been listening to disco all our lives. We don't need anymore._

_DOMINIC: Don't worry. This isn't disco._

_(From the radio played Walk This Way by Aerosmith.)_

_DONAVAN JR: That's way better than disco. I wish we were like them._

_DOMINIC: Maybe we can be._

_(END OF SCENE 1.)_

"Cool! Is this where my character comes in?" Britta was already buzzing with excitement. 

"You'd have to make up her lines for us to add later, but yeah. Can someone write down the new lines as we go?" he asked the group. 

Vicki raised her hand. "I can do it!"

"Alright cool." Abed turned to Britta. "What's your character's name?"

"Gwen."

"Okay, so mom and dad text the brothers that they hired a babysitter for them, knowing that they're getting old enough to where they probably don't need one, but wanting to be safe because they're teenagers. With that, Gwen enters a little bit later in a rocker get-up." Abed described. They went back to reading after Vicki wrote all that down.

_DONOVAN JR: Who are you and what have you done with our babysitter?"_

_GWEN: Dude, I am your babysitter. Name's Gwen. What'cha guys doin?_

_DONOVAN JR: N-Nothing._

_GWEN: I'm not gonna tell mommy and daddy._

_DONOVAN JR: We were thinking of starting a band. We want to sound like this._

"Then play the CD again," Abed directed, waiting for Vicki to signal that she was ready once again. A few minutes later, she did, so they were ready to continue.

_GWEN: So you guys wanna be a rock band?_

_DOMINIC: If that's what it's called, yeah._   
  


Abed hummed thoughtfully. "Do we wanna have them buy instruments or just find them in the garage where they found the CD?" 

"Maybe the dad used to have a band just like theirs when he was their age in that same garage, so that's why they find the instruments there, and that's why he comes around in the end?" Jeff tried. 

Abed grinned. "You know, you're pretty good at this for someone who didn't want to do it."

"Yeah, that's pretty much always how it goes." 

He actually ended up enjoying the reading so far. He really liked reading with Shirley, now that he thought about it. Not only that, but he loved how starry-eyed Craig looked while watching him. He kinda wished he would've convinced Abed to give the three of them more lines so he could further explore their onscreen chemistry. Unfortunately, it was too late now. They still had way more to read.

_DOMINIC: Hey guys! Look what else I found!_

_DONAVAN JR: Woah. That guitar looks awesome!_

_GWEN: (Strums and grimaces.) But it sounds a thousand years old._

_DOMINIC: You can play?_

_GWEN: Not really. I mainly play drums._

_DOMINIC: Well, we could use drums, since so far all I've found is another guitar and a mic._

_GWEN: Are you guys asking me to be in your band?_

_DOMINIC: Only if you wanna be._

_GWEN: Yeah I'm down. You guys tune-up while I set up my kit._

_(END OF SCENE 2.)_

"We'll have some kind of transition there before we start the next scene with a pretend sound check and a costume change so everybody actually looks like they're in a rock band." Abed said as a mental note. He gave everyone a small break before moving on to scene three. He planned for that to be the last one.   
  


_(Insert a small snippet of the band's own rendition of Soap Disco here.)_

_DAVID: That was awesome!_

_DONOVAN JR: I know. I can already see our future. Soon we'll be selling out big stadiums and we won't even have to worry about owning and operating a disco-themed car wash._

_DOMINIC: Yeah, I'm only here on weekends because my bio family has nothing to do with the business and I still worry about that rule._

_GWEN: And yet, you guys are calling yourselves Soap Disco, and having your first song share that name._

_DOMINIC: It's like it's a better, cleaner disco. It's ironic._   
_GWEN: Whatever keeps you from wearing leg warmers and singing about detergent._

_DONOVAN: Mom's turning the corner. You promised she wouldn't find out. (Sneakily hide all the instruments and change back into disco clothes.)_

Abed closed his notebook. "Alright, and then the theme song sequence will serve as the credits for this episode but play at the beginning every other, as per usual with sitcoms. That's a wrap!" 

Everyone cheered as Vicki finished writing the script and headed off with the rest of the AV club to print it with Britta following close behind to set up the costumes. 

"So do you think if I film that in time for the dance that I could premiere it there?" Abed asked Craig.

"That sounds great!"

"Can you ready the projector?" Abed asked as a follow up.

Elroy gave him a thumbs up.

The next day, Craig had the committee carpool to the mall to get everything they needed for the dance. Chang and Ian weren't going, so they weren't there, but everyone else was.   
Annie was in the craft store with Troy, each of them picking out various colors of highlighter and poster board along with stickers related to their partners' respective interests for their proposals. Frankie and Elroy were there buying whatever decorations Annie said they needed.   
Meanwhile, the rest of the committee was in fitting rooms trying on outfits.

Shirley was the first to come out, trying on a long floral sundress and a jean jacket. "Do you think it's formal enough?" 

It didn't matter if it was. She looked beautiful already and she hadn't even done her hair and makeup. She didn't need to, but it was a tradition for these dances. This one wasn't super fancy since it was replacing homecoming, which was basically just a more lowkey version of prom, but everyone still wanted to look nice. And boy, did she ever. 

Jeff wanted to twirl her around on the dance floor in front of the whole student body without a care in the world. "You look perfect. Absolutely perfect." 

"Really?"

"100%. No bullshit. You look perfect, trust me." He assured her. 

She smiled shyly. "Oh, that's nice." 

"Don't mention it."

Craig then went in front of the mirror, adjusting his matching bow tie. He wore a black button-up that had little skulls on it with dress shoes and white cargo pants that made his ass look great. The dean could've just worn the emo outfit from before, but he could never have enough outfits. He hadn't repeated one in years. 

Once again, Jeff could not help but stare a hole in the back of his head. 

"Someone looks spiffy, am I right?" Britta said teasingly, nudging him to snap out of it.

"Oh yeah, right. You look great. I like that outfit. It's more toned down than your usual but still fun." 

"Thank you, Jeffrey." 

"Yeah sure. You always look great." he cleared his throat. "I mean you all look great.. All the time." 

"God, why don't you just get on the floor and suck his dick right in front of us." Britta muttered. 

"Oh shut up. I'm gonna go put on the stuff I picked out."Jeff went into the dressing room and came out a few minutes later in a grey suit with a navy blue tie and some basic dress shoes.   
"Do you think this is overdoing it?"

"Yes." Abed said flatly. "You look like you have a job interview after this." 

"Maybe I should take off the jacket?" 

"Now you look you're getting ready for sixth grade picture day." Britta almost looked disappointed. 

"No sixth grader is that tall. Or fit." Craig said with a chuckle. 

"Thank you?" 

"Just put on a long-sleeved dress shirt. You can't pull off short sleeves like Craig can."

"Oh what, 'cause he already looks like a sixth-grader?" Jeff mocked. 

"I really hope no one's balding in sixth grade," Shirley said in between laughs. 

Craig was giggling too. "There's no "ing" about it, I'm already bald." 

"Just put on long sleeves. If you hate them you can roll them up later. Besides, you need something different. That outfit has too much grey. Too boring." Britta reiterated. 

"I thought he looked like a hot CEO."

Everyone howled with laughter. 

"Mr. Winger will see you now." Abed referenced, making the whole group laugh even harder.

Jeff rolled his eyes as he went back to change into a long sleeve shirt like Britta advised him to.

The long-sleeved shirt he put on was purple. He decided not to put on the tie and leave the first two buttons undone to make it look more casual. "How's this?" 

Shirley looked him up and down."Ooh, I like it. It's just professional enough." 

"I think you should open your shirt even more."   
Britta hit Craig's arm lightly, then turned to Jeff and gave him a thumbs up. 

"I'm already sweating." He said as he rolled his sleeves back. "I don't really know why. I guess I'm just nervous because I really wanna look good for-"   
He could feel Britta and Abed's expectant eyes on him, but he didn't really know what to say because at the moment he didn't really know who he was doing this for. There were a lot of people he wanted to impress, as always, but there were two main people whose opinions mattered to him most, not that he felt ready to talk about either of them. 

"for- for the dance. For the dance. I mean, everybody wants to look good for the dance." he stammered out. 

"Hey Jeff," 

"Yeah Abed?" 

He put a hand on his shoulder, speaking just loud enough for him to hear. "Stop talking. I'm not the best at reading the room, but even I know you're bombing right now. You're gonna be okay. If you need anything, we'll talk later, but I need to try on what I'm planning on wearing."

Abed had on dress pants and a red sweater that was built to look like it had a collared shirt under it but didn't. He didn't bother to straighten his hair today, so he was trying a lot of new things, but he looked good enough to get whistles and compliments from the group. Britta even sent Troy a picture of him. He responded with a swooning reaction gif and the caption "I'm fucking dead"  
Abed made sure to keep his hair like that for the dance.

Finally, it was Britta's turn. She put on a little black dress and matching shoes. Craig smiled as he noticed that she had taken after him in wearing fishnets.

Jeff insisted that the dean looked better in them, earning a groan from her even though he was mainly just trying to get back at her for calling him a boring tween. Shirley wondered if everyone was dressing like this. Britta shook her head, telling her not to worry about it unless Abed tells her to dress like that in the sitcom. Of course, he had to send Annie a picture of her as payback. Annie told him she had never felt gayer than in that moment. Of course, she also sent the gif of John Mulaney saying, "that's my wife!" 

They then switched places so that everyone could get outfits, decorations, and whatever else they might need for the dance.

Jeff was sifting through all the craft supplies. He didn't really know what he was looking for, but he needed something to make a promposal for someone with. 

"You okay?" Abed checked. "You look stressed."

"I am. I need to plan a stupid promposal I guess? I don't even know who I'm asking yet." 

"What about the dean?" Abed said quietly. 

"Yeah, I'm into him. So I owe Britta 20 bucks." Jeff folded his arms.   
"Yes! I knew it!" 

"I could ask him, but I also kinda wanna ask Shirley." He continued. 

Britta was flabbergasted. "Really? Didn't peg you for that. 'Guess I need to get better bifi." 

"Huh?"

"Bifi. It's like gaydar, but for bi people." Abed defined. 

Britta looked at him, a little astonished. "How'd you know that?" 

"I'm bi too." 

"Okay, wow. I thought you were only into dudes. My bifi really does suck." Britta said with a nervous laugh. 

Abed waved her off. "It's fine."

"With an i or with a y?"

"A y. You're good." He reassured.

"Thanks."

They winked at each other and did finger-guns. 

"Help me out. Who do I ask?" 

Britta was completely dumbfounded. "You think two bi people are gonna be able to make a decision between a guy and a girl for you?" 

"I'm serious. I need help." 

"Maybe you don't have to choose. Having two dates would be a great homage." Abed said with a cheeky grin. "Besides, just because social convention tells you to be monogamous doesn't mean you have to be." 

"Of course you'd tell me not to do what's normal." 

"He does have a point." Britta justified. "Genuinely think about it for a moment. What's stopping you from going with both of them?" 

"I don't think either of them would want to go as a third wheel or part of some three-person date." 

"Then say you're going as a group."she said like it was the easiest thing ever. 

"Do I even have to do a big ask then?" 

"Oh yeah, they're gonna wanna be wooed." Abed reaffirmed. 

"What if they reject me?" 

Britta motioned for him to look at her. "I know what it's like to be stuck between people, not sure if they like you, or if anybody even likes you, but just hoping with everything that is holy that they do. It sucks because you have no idea which decision is the right one and you feel like something's wrong with you. It's okay to like both. You just have to trust that both will like you. I know I make fun of you a lot, but you're a close friend of mine and I think they'd be lucky to have you, as would anybody. You do not have to do it how everyone else is doing it, but you need to put yourself out there. 

Abed's eyes lit up at her. "A classic Jeff Winger speech." 

"Well, I wish somebody would've told me all that when I was figuring out my sexuality, so he needed it." 

A smile spread across Jeff's face. "Wouldn't be the first time. Especially from you. But, thanks." 

"No problem. Welcome to the bi squad." She and Abed now gave him finger guns and a wink. 

He attempted to do it back, but it didn't come quite as natural to him yet. Regardless, he was glad to have somewhere he belonged.

Elroy and Frankie weren't dressing up since he had to DJ and she was taking over the Shirley's Sandwiches booth to give the owner a much needed night off. 

Annie and Troy still needed to pick what to wear, however. They both came out of their respective dressing rooms at the same time. Annie was wearing a poofy, glitter-covered black dress you could barely see her shoes in while Troy had on all black except for a red tie. 

"Oh my god you look amazing!" They said in unison. Troy took a picture of them together and sent it to the group chat he had Abed and Britta in. They both responded with bi panic reaction gifs.

Back at the craft store, Craig and Shirley were both looking at the decorations. 

"Are you thinking of asking anybody?" She said out of nowhere. 

"I don't know.. I think the one person I could ask would reject me." He tried his best to be subtle when looking at Jeff.

Abed and Britta were eavesdropping, as friends do. 

"I'm gonna tell him." 

"Don't you dare!" Britta objected softly. "We need to let him do it on his own! Men need to learn to express their feelings in a healthy way." 

"I know you're majoring in art now, but you're not a bad therapist. At least to me." 

"Thank you so much, Abed. I still don't know what I'll do, but I like drawing and I like helping people so either way, I'll be happy." She replied. 

"I know that no matter what you end up doing, you'll kill it."

The next day, Jeff, Britta, and Abed were sitting at the study room table, trying to help Jeff plan his invite. Jeff was racking his brain on how to do it. If it was just Shirley, he'd probably cook her something. If it was just Craig, he'd show up in some elaborate costume. Unfortunately, he liked both. How do you ask out two people at once?

Abed thought maybe he could blend the two worlds. Make a poster with some pun relating to sweets, dress up like one, and make some. It seemed like a lot of work, but luckily Britta already had a cupcake costume she'd let him borrow. She already worked out a poster slogan too, "It'd be sweet if you'd go to the dance with me". All he needed to do was put it on a poster, make a couple of brownies, and hope for the best.

By the time he had everything ready, it was a week from the dance and the committee was meeting as a check-in that everything's ready, including their promposals, which they would do today.

Annie was up first, seeing Britta's interest in Kara's Flowers and immediately making a poster with "Wanna go to the Soap Disco with me?" on it. The pun just barely worked, but Britta loved it. She jumped for joy, practically screaming "yes"  
She grabbed Annie's face and kissed her.

Troy was next, holding up a poster covered in Inspector Spacetime stickers and the words, "You said we could hang out any space, any time. How about Friday at 6 in the cafeteria?". Abed must've said the word "cool" a thousand times. He grinned from ear to ear, bouncing with glee. He ran up to Troy and hugged him tight. He took that as a yes. 

It was finally time for Jeff. He stood up as confidently as he could. "So I do have something prepared. I mean, obviously. Look at me. But I am asking two people as a group with this. So Shirley, Craig," he looked to each of them, holding up the poster and sliding over a plate of brownies. "It'd be sweet if you'd go to the dance with me." 

Craig tilted his head. "Both of us?"

"Yeah. The three of us. Together. What do you say?" 

They both mumbled some things to each other before accepting his invite.

The rest of the meeting went smoothly. Craig reported that they had sold 10 group bundle food tickets, 5 photobooth tickets, and 25 song tickets. That ended up being plenty of money to buy everything they needed before the meeting, and still have some leftover that could help the wellbeing of the school. Everything was ready.

It was the day of the dance. Elroy was at his turntables while Frankie was selling Shirley's Sandwiches. Abed stood on a table to announce the first song of the night, Dance Dance by Fall out Boy. He then went to meet Troy on the dance floor with Britta and Annie. 

Jeff joined a bit later with Shirley and Craig so that they were all in a big dance pile. At least, they were until some girl pulled Craig aside to dance with him as Mr. Brightside blared throughout the cafeteria. He wished that girl were him. 

_Coming out of my cage and I've been doing just fine_  
 _Gotta gotta be down because I want it all_

Jeff tried to ignore it and just keep hanging out with Shirley. She was surprisingly good at dancing and singing along to the song. He really liked doing that with her. Yet, his eyes kept drifting to Craig. 

_And it's all in my head but she's touching his chest_

Shirley stopped dancing so she could hold his hand. "You okay, Jeffrey? You're barely looking at me." 

_I just can't look, it's killing me_

Jeff forced a smile. "Did you know you and Craig are the only people who call me that?" 

"Is that what this is about? You wanna be with Craig?"

"I came here with both of you. I want to be with both of you. Not with you while he prances around with someone else." Jeff glared at her. 

_Jealousy turning saints into the sea_   
_Swimming through sick lullabies_   
_Choking on their alibis_

Shirley looked over at the girl and giggled. "If it makes you feel any better, you're a much better match for either of us than she is. She's got two left feet, and she looks like she just walked through a waterfall." 

"That's probably the closest she's ever come to washing her hair." He egged on. 

Shirley covered her mouth to make sure no one else heard her laughing at the other woman.   
He smiled, genuinely this time. "I missed this. I probably wasn't clear about it before, but I wanted this to be a date." 

_But it's just the price I pay_

"With me or him?" 

"Both." 

_Destiny is calling me_

Shirley squeezed his hand. "Honey I had no idea. You want me to go get him so he can join in on the fun?" 

"That'd be awesome." 

_Open up my eager eyes_  
 _'Cause I'm Mr. Brightside_

Shirley grabbed Craig by the arm as the song changed to Can't Take My Eyes Off of You from the 10 Things I Hate About You soundtrack, shouting "I love this song! Come dance with us!"

As soon as she led him to where she was before, he waved and said, "Hi Jeffrey!" at the exact same time as her, causing them to grin at each other. 

"Sorry I lost you there."

Jeff waved him off. "Don't worry about that. I'm just glad you're here now." 

"He was just telling me he wanted to date us." Shirley brought up. 

"So I had a date with Jeff Winger and I almost missed it?" 

"Hey, we had a date with Jeff Winger." She corrected him. "Right?" 

"Yeah. But that's in the past. Let's get this party started, shall we?" He took both of them by the hand.

_You'd be like heaven to touch_   
_I wanna hold you so much_

He spun them both in each hand, mouthing the words and staring into their eyes with a big dopey grin. For once, he understood what Abed meant he talked about that look of love given in romance movies. 

_You're just too good to be true_   
_Can't take my eyes off of you_

Abed was running around, jumping from table to table reenacting the scene where Heath Ledger sings it while looking at Troy lovingly, in true Abed fashion. 

_I love you baby_  
 _And if it's quite alright_  
 _I need you baby_  
 _To warm these lonely nights_  
 _I love you baby_  
 _Trust in me when I say_  
 _Oh pretty baby_  
 _Don't bring me down I pray_  
 _Oh pretty baby_  
 _Now that I found you, stay_  
 _Let me love you, baby_  
 _Let me love you_

Soon, Jeff, Shirley, and Craig were screaming the lyrics as they danced together.

"That was exhilarating! I didn't know you were so romantic and fun!" Craig gushed. 

Jeff blushed lightly. "Me neither. You guys brought that out in me. That's why I want to date you both." 

"To be clear, just me and Craig, right? No one else?" Shirley double-checked.

"I wouldn't want anyone else." 

"I can tell with the way you looked at us. I just wanted to make sure it was just us. I'm fine sharing you with Craig, but you better not cheat on him or me." She said protectively. "You know what I do with cheaters." 

He winced slightly. "Actually I don't, but I'm guessing from your last relationship, you smash their head in with a jukebox?"

"Damn right." 

"Well, you don't have to worry about that." Jeff soothed. "I didn't dress up like a giant cupcake, make a poster, and cook a plate of brownies all for only one night with you guys." 

"That's good to hear. "

They ended up ordering a table with food so they could chat and eat. They talked for hours, having the time of their lives. Towards the end of the night, they got up once again to hug and sway to a slow song like Britta was doing with Annie, and like Troy was doing with Abed.

After that song, Abed got on top of a table again and tapped the mic to get everyone's attention. "Alright, time for the big finale. Me, the Save Greendale Committee, the drama club, and the AV club have been working on a show and we'd like to present to you the trailer we filmed last week." he signaled for Elroy to turn on the projector as everyone got situated in their tables.   
Britta dragged Annie over as she spewed about how happy she was to be in the show given that she gave Abed the idea and she helped with the costumes. 

The trailer showed clips from the pilot he filmed arranged to the song "Soap Disco". 

_The crowd was getting old_   
_But disco's back or so I'm told_

He lined up the clip of Jeff and Shirley teaching an annoyed Pavel and Troy to dance to disco music perfectly with those lyrics.

_But we've got nothing here_   
_Except a tired set of ears_

He put the footage of Pavel and Troy looking exasperated as they expected another disco song there, then put the footage of them jamming out to rock over the next few lines

_And they say_   
_Hey mama, I'm something_   
_Check it out, see what it's all about_

He added clips of the band playing together for the next part 

_'Cause this is Soap Disco, so charming_

He then added the Disco Car Wash®️ jingle to the _"see the world from a cleaner point of view"_ part since he wanted that to be the company's slogan.

 _The children have the time to overthrow the slime_

This is where he put in Britta's scenes where she came up to the guys and convinced them to start a band with her, along with their transition from discos to rockers. Britta was cheering and pointing at the screen, shouting "That's me! That's my scene!"

_The super children said they could see_   
_Bright lights and clean colors_

Here is where he put Troy's vision of selling out big stadiums, where they were performing in the hardcore outfits that Britta picked out on a fake stage in front of kids from the AV club, and the drama club.

_Check it out, see what it's all about_  
 _'Cause this is Soap Disco, so charming_  
 _See the world from a cleaner point of view_

He had those ending lyrics show the group sneaking away with their instruments to soft guitar music. Then, the credits had a booming solo, thanking the Save Greendale Committee, the drama club, and the AV Club for being a part of the TrobedTV team that made this all possible.

He was awarded with roaring applause, and many congratulated him on the new project. He could not wait to premiere the pilot.

Jeff made sure to let him know that he appreciated him and Britta for everything they did during the pilot and for the promposal, giving them a much better finger guns-wink-combo this time that they reciprocated in flawless sync. He then begrudgingly gave Britta the 20 bucks he owed her.

As much as he hated being ordered around by Abed and Britta as they threw him into leg warmers and a cupcake costume, it got him where he wanted to be: in the spotlight with those he loved.   
  



End file.
